The Village of Lions Bay's Most Prominent Political Commentator
Posted in The Common Sense Canadian on Jul 5th, 2011
I sat in my hotel room in London on a recent vacation, reading the comments on my last article in thetyee.ca in which I had congratulated the Vancouver Sun for printing an op-ed piece by Dr. Marvin Shaffer of SFU which stated the elementary truth that the government is forcing BC Hydro to pay more […]
Posted in The Common Sense Canadian on Jun 27th, 2011
There is a reason that we who want to save our environment are losing the war and may lose it outright unless we gird up our loins and fight to the death, politically speaking. The reason is simple: no government set in authority over us will apply the “Precautionary Principle” (despite Canada’s international commitment to […]
Posted in The Common Sense Canadian on Jun 14th, 2011
This will be harsh, I warn you. In preparation I urge you to read Dr. Marvin Shaffer’s (SFU) article in the Vancouver Sun last Monday. My position today is that the Vancouver Sun’s lead columnist, whom I once greatly admired, Vaughn Palmer, has abandoned his journalistic duty; while Energy Minister Rich Coleman, whom I had […]
Posted in The Common Sense Canadian on Jun 8th, 2011
I received an email recently saying I was too old and should begone – not his precise words but that was the gist of what he said. And I suppose that requires an answer. I am old and will be 80 on New Years Eve; there it is – make of it what you will. […]
Posted in The Common Sense Canadian on Jun 5th, 2011
I favour civil disobedience if it’s done responsibly and for good reasons. Civil disobedience was practiced by Jesus; more recently Henry David Thoreau, the 19th Century American philosopher, is seen as father of the modern art of flouting authority. Thoreau had a strong impact on Mohandas Gandhi, who led protests first against South Africa’s laws […]
Posted in The Common Sense Canadian on May 30th, 2011
We at the Common Sense Canadian will be dealing with the Site C project in some depth and from the outset we would like to acknowledge the tremendous work and research done by our colleague, well known economist Erik Andersen, who cut his professional teeth dealing with government spending. I would like to test a […]
Posted in The Common Sense Canadian on May 25th, 2011
Awhile back I did a piece on nuclear energy and you would have thought I was in favour of hanging petty thieves (that theory belongs to the Harper Conservatives). I said nothing in favour of nuclear but only made the point that before anything is rejected, it (the modern version) should be studied so we […]
Posted in The Common Sense Canadian on May 22nd, 2011
I have been in politics or commenting on them (same thing) back to the days of WAC Bennett. My first published piece was a criticism of Bennett’s position on the failed (thankfully) Victoria Charter. During that time I’ve seen plenty of gilding the lily, massaging of the truth, opinions presented as truth – in fact […]
Posted in The Common Sense Canadian on May 16th, 2011
Last article I spoke of civil disobedience, a legitimate tool of dissent in a democracy when a government makes political decisions without public consultation and to the exclusion of all but the powerful. We have just such a decision forthcoming with federal and provincial approval of the Enbridge pipelines from the Tar Sands to Kitimat […]
Posted in The Common Sense Canadian on May 12th, 2011
One is not supposed to anticipate lawbreaking, much less say that one will participate. Interesting that as I write this, it is the 71st anniversary of Winston Churchill becoming Prime Minister of Britain. I claim no resemblance to the great man – I only say that I learned from him that candour is the only […]
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The Village of Lions Bay's Most Prominent Political Commentator
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